Nozzle structure for floor and surface sweepers



E. s. GEORGE ET AL 2,542,024

NOZZLE STRUCTURE FOR FLOOR AND SURFACE SWEEPERS Feb. 20, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1944 l'mnentor 6. 6590 672% Mes/6y 0 s flm/T (lttornegs NOZZLE STRUCTURE FOR FLOOR AND SURFACE SWEEPERS Filed Oct. 24, 1944 Feb. 20, 1951 s. GEORGE. Ef AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gttorncgs Patented'Feb. 2'0, 1951 NOZZLE STRUCTURE FOR FLOORAND' URFA SW EBS i l 'Edwin S. George, Bloomfield Hills, and Wesley A. Gibbons, Birmingham, Mich, assignors to Moto Mower Companyg-Detroit, Mich.,"a corporation of Michigan Application October 24, 1944, Serial No. 560,160

' Thepresent invention relates to improvements cleaning and sweeping apparatus and, more particularly, to portable' floor and surface "sweepers.

The primary object of the invention to provid'e' a portable sewer-ope ate floor and surface sweeper withineans fof'agit'ating, or disturbing dust and dirt in" corners, crevices, cracks and at the baseof walls so that the dirt may be blown or'directedinto' the; path ofthe sweeper and 10 l2 for supporting vt1'ie-.1'ear--end.of thewheeled picked thereby;

' Another object lth i'iiv ibh s tqpifvid a i r w rer t oq wa swee er in which the rotary brush driven by an ,in-

ternal combustion. engine'having its exhaustconnectedto anoz zleobliquely presentedtothe floor surface o jo e'sme' rt e.. aab sweeper so that thenozzle' may, bebrought into play to direct a blast of eighaust gas at thebase of walls and als ,o 'into corners andfcrevices for the pur- 20 pose of removing dirt and th etherefrom. Another object of the inventr to, provide a portable sweeper and cleaning apparatusof, the

1 above mentioned"tipe'iinjiwhich the nozzle f or directinga bIast'ofenhaust gasat he base of walls and into corners and crevieesis adjustable so that itrn'ay be 'moved to'anydesired position to facilitate the quick and easy removal of, dirt' and dust without A employing egtraneous brushes and Another objectof, the ention istoprovide a r b e mean n as? we p f a t sso ftheabove-mentioned character which will need 1 little' attention and'will operate efliciently from h s austsa e Qf li fi po e mo or,. thereb 35 eliminating the .use of air fanslo'r blowers or vthe like j j 'dther objects and advantages t'f'th intention 111 b emfl s en uring hecourse Qf ,t,h

. ur 1 is ,S d -Q 'a haWiQ vfi tor and surface cleaner, illustrating an embodiment of "the invention showing .the rnanner, in which the" adjustable? nozzle is 'suppo ed from the 45 machine;

' Figure 2 Li I elevati of the arrows showing the manner in which the nozzle is adjustably supported and pivotally at- 55 tached to the sweeper frame.

rooms as well as other cleaning devi es 30,

jt iie "and' surfa'ce cleaner further llustrating the 10- ends ofthe frame members-1 are: connected by a transverse bar 8 held in place by suitable U -bolts as at}. Affixed to the transverse bar 81s a motor. platform l0 havingua .pair of axlehousings ll for supporting'a reara'xle i2. Rubber-tired supporting wheelsv I3 are-mounted on the axle frame iwhile the front end is supportedby a swivel caster L4,, mountedin a suitable swivel ybracket carriedbythefront frame bar. 6. Spaced from the front frame bar 6 there is a transverse swinging bar and the swivel bracket 16 is secured to the front bar G-and transverse bar I5;

E sprocket chain 24 is trained over the sprocket wheel 2! and over a sprocket wheel 25 carriedby the power shaft 22 to impart rotation'thereto. The internal combustionrengine It includes the usual cylinder casting 26 having an engine head 2 which is provided withthe usual valve gearing,

and an exhaustmanifold 28 is connected with the engine 21 for accommodating the escape of exhaust gases. -Also mounted-on the power shaft 22 ,is a sprocket wheel 29 which is drivinglyconnected with an axle IZby means of a sprocket chain or I V v I the like as .at 30 which is trained over a sprocket following description of the accompanYing diQ W- Zings, wn'ere' nr wheeltl keyed to. the axle l2. Secured to the sideframe members I is a pair of easing plates 32, which are bolted, or otherwisefixed in positionas at 33.i.,A' rotary brush is adapted tobe supported between the casing mem- ,.bers 32 and a. rotary shafted has its ends jour-v nalled' in said end casing members 32' forfree rotation therein, The rotary brush 35 is ofjcylindric'al form and is supported insuch a manner as to engage-the surface or floor and sweep the same whenitherotary brush is rotated by, a motor I p d to nae the.....hrush 35, a drive s'pr ocket chain 36 is: trained over a pulley or sprocket wheelt! secured to one end of the shaft 22, and said drive chain is trained over a pair of idle sprockets 38 and 39 (Figure 1) so asto'be I looped about a sprocket wheel 40 carried by one end of the rotary shaft 34.

An arcuately curved cover 4| extends between the end casing section 32 and terminates in a forwardly directed lip 43 for supporting the forward edge of a removable dust-collection receptacle 44 in any suitable manner, so that the brush 35 when rotated in a clockwise direction will sweep dust and other foreign matter upwardly over a transverse plate 45 and over the lower flanged edge @6 of the dust-collection receptacle 44.

Pivoted to the motor platform 19 is a handle shaft 48 having a handle 49 for guiding the sweeper over the floor surface and said handle 49 is provided with suitable conventional control members (not shown, and forming no part of the present invention) for regulating the speed of the internal combustion engine l9.

Also driven by the power shaftZZ is a rotary pump 50 by means of a sprocket chain and said rotary pump is supported on a platform 53 extending rearwardly from the transverse frame bar 54. A pair of frame brackets 56 are secured to the side frame members 1 and are connected in the front by a transverse frame bar 51 and the transverse frame bar 54 above mentioned.-

A liquid supply tank 58 is supported on the transverse frame bars 54 and 5'! and said tank is provided with an outlet pipe 59 which is connected to 4 pelled. Preferably, the nozzle 78 is located and positioned on the right hand side of the wheeled frame 5 adjacent the forward end thereof so that by manipulating the portable sweeper, the end of the nozzle 18 may be directed into corners and crevices of a building or the like so as to remove dirt therefrom and blast the same into the path of the rotary brush 35. By simply adjusting the hand lever 82, the nozzlelB may be adjusted to produce the mostbeneficial effect so that the blast of exhaust gases will be directed into corners and crevices as above described.

In operation, the internal combustion engine 25 is started in the usual manner to cause the rotary the inlet of the pump 50 as illustrated in Figure l. The outlet of the pump is connected to a discharge pipe 50 having a spray manifold 6! extending transversely of the wheeled frame 5 and supported by suitable brackets or the like as at 62.

7 Spray nozzles 63 extend downwardly from the spray manifold 5! and are arranged with their orifices in spaced relation from the surface of the ground over which the sweeper is being propelled. A control valve 64 is interposed between the discharge pipe 60 and manifold BI and said valve is provided with a lever 65 which is adapted to be controlled from a location adjacent the handle 69 by means of a control handle 66 through the medium of suitable flexible shafting as at El.

Secured to the exhaust manifold 28 is a muffler 68 having a pipe fitting 69 atone end thereof which is elbowed and extends upwardly so that the upper end may be connected to a filter element ll] by a suitable gland nut or the like as at H. The upperendof the filter 1!! is provided with a removableclosure 12 having a gland nut or the like as at T3 to which is attached a flexible hose 7 3. The flexible hose is supported from the gas filter '15 by a bracket 15 and has its lower end further supported by means of a bracket 16 secured, to one of the side frame members I by bolts or the like as at T7. The lower end of the flexible hose i4 is connected to a nozzle 78 having a laterally extending projection 19 which is pivoted to one of the side frame members 1 by means of a bolt as at 86. A coil spring 81 is interposed between the head of the bolt 85 and the side frame -member I to frictionally tension the lateral extension ?9 and yieldingly hold the nozzle 18 in an adjusted position. Formed integral with the extension 15 is a handle lever 82 for the purpose of rocking the nozzle 18 on its pivot 80 to various positions of adjustment. The free end of the nozzle 1B is bent laterally and forwardly as at 34 and terminates in a flattened flared end portion 85 to provide an elongated orifice 85 which is so positioned and arranged as to be presented obliquely to the floor or surface over which the portable sweeper and cleaning apparatus is being probrush 35 to be rotated so as to pick up and sweep dirt into the dirt and dust collection receptacle Hi. Simultaneously, the internal combustion engine l9,propels the sweeper over the floor or surface at a speed which may be governed or regulated by the hand control adjacent the handle 49 as above described so that the machine may be propelled forwardly at the proper speed. The tank 53 may be filled with a suitable dust-laying liquid for being sprayed in advance of the rotary brush 35 under pressure, to thereby eliminate as much as possible the contamination of the air with dust particles and dirt.

When the sweeper is employed adjacent corners, joints or crevices, the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine 26 will pass through the exhaust mufier 68, gas filter ill, flexible tubing 74 and through the nozzle is so as to direct the blast of exhaust gases into the corner for the purpose of removing dirt and foreign matter therefrom and spreading the same over the floor surface so that it may be eventually picked up by the rotary brush 35.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same and that various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of parts Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What we claim is:

1. The combination in an engine-driven rotary floor brushing machine of a wheel-supported frame structure, a rotary brush rotatably mounted on said frame structure, an internal combustion engine mounted on said frame structure and drivingly connected to said brush, a gas blow nozzle mounted on said'frame structure forwardly and to one side of said brush, said nozzle having a laterally elongated outlet directed forwardly, downwardly and outwardly relatively to said frame structure adjacent the floor with its long axis directed obliquely to the floor, and an exhaust gas conduit extending from the exhaust connection of said engine to said nozzle.

2. The combination in an engine-driven rotary floor brushing machine of a wheel-supported frame structure, a rotary brush rotatably mounted on said frame structure, an internal combustion engine mounted on said frame structure and drivingl connected to said brush,, a gas blow nozzle mounted onsaid frame structure forwardly and to one side of said brush and having a portion thereof pivotally engaging said frame structure on an approximately horizontal pivot axis, a resilient member engaging and urging said nozzle portion into yielding frictional engagement with said frame structure, said nozzle having a laterally-elongated outlet directed forwardly, downwardly and outwardly relatively. to said frame structure adjacent the floor with its long 5 axis directed obliquely to the floor, and an exhaust gas conduit extending from the exhaust connection of said engine to said nozzle.

EDWIN S. GEORGE. WESLEY A. GIBBONS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 422,799 Kendall Mar. 4, 1890 549,437 Campbell Nov. 5, 1895 Number 

